


Step Three

by Phelpsgirlxxx



Series: Touch [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Affection, Aphrodite Cabin - Freeform, Blossoming friendships, Discussion, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Hair, Haircuts, M/M, Starved, Supportive Will, Touch, friends - Freeform, happiness, movies - Freeform, touch starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:20:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28880118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phelpsgirlxxx/pseuds/Phelpsgirlxxx
Summary: With Will's encouragement, Nico opens himself up more to his friends.It started with Annabeth, now it's Piper's turn.Better than the summary.
Relationships: Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Series: Touch [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2045401
Comments: 4
Kudos: 81





	Step Three

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this really quickly, and I currently have a blossoming migraine so it probably isn't good.
> 
> I wonder if being back on medication doesn't stop migraines for a while as I get used to it again?
> 
> I don't know.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy.

Will’s first suggestion had been Percy.

Nico was quick to shut that down. Sure, he had confessed to the boy and the son of Poseidon had also apologised, but their friendship was still tentative. Percy had taken to visiting on weekends, and for a while each weekend he would speak to the eldest child of the big three, attempting to bond on some level. It was hard, but they were getting there.

However, Will’s suggestion came too soon. He wasn’t ready for that, far from it in fact.

Hazel, Frank, Jason and Piper were also immediately rolled out as they were across the country and even with Nico’s suggestion that perhaps he could shadow travel there, which Will had shut down, it wouldn’t have worked.

Leo had also not emerged from wherever he was since the scroll that had appeared a few weeks prior, so that wasn’t a feasible option. Not that Nico would have wanted it to be anyway. He’d heard some of Leo’s comments about how creepy he was when they had both been on the Argo II, so he knew the son of Hephaestus wouldn’t exactly be overly willing.

Reyna was also stuck in New Rome, so she wasn’t available either.

“It’s fine Will, I’m sure I’ll be fine. I have you, and when Annabeth comes to camp next time we have plans to hang out.”

Will frowned, running his fingers through his hair for a second.

“I know, but I think it’d be helpful, you know? You’re still jumpy with touch Neeks, and obviously that’s not your fault, but getting used to more touch will be helpful.”

Nico sighed.

“I know. I’ve really enjoyed the past couple of months, and this is helping. It really is. I just don’t want anyone to feel like they have to. I survived years with no one touching me. I’m now up to two people who regularly do. That’s a huge increase.”

“Two hundred percent.” Will murmured absently.

“Exactly. It’ll be fine Will.”

Will carefully placed a hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder, and the younger boy jumped slightly, but tried to quash it so it wasn’t as obvious.

“I know it’ll be fine, I know that. It’s just…”

“Hmm?”

Nico turned slightly to face his boyfriend fully, putting the small toy he’d been fiddling with to try and release some excess energy into his pocket. 

“Since we’ve started dating, which I am extermerely glad we did…” Will began, trying to reassure his boyfriend.

“I’m glad we did too.” Nico said plainly, although it was clear how pleased he was with it.

“Exactly. I just don’t want you to have to only rely on me for affection, you know? Especially as Chiron and Mr D will be keeping an eye on us more than ever now. We’ll probably have less time where we can be affectionate, although I’m sure there’s ways around that.” He added absently.

Nico’s hand slipped back into his pocket, and he pulled the toy out again. He didn’t say anything for a few moments as he considered his boyfriend’s words.

“You’re right, I know you are, but I’m not sure what to do.”

Will moved closer to him for a second, making direct eye contact with his boyfriend as a slight warning before he slung an arm around his shoulders, pulling the son of Hades into his side. Immediately he felt the tension melt out of Nico, who leant into him, resting his head gently on Will’s chest and relishing in the attention.

“Are you okay?” Will asked carefully as Nico shifted slightly so Will could wrap him into a proper hug.

“Yeah, sorry, this is nice. Is it okay for you?” 

“It’s perfect.”

Nico hummed pleasantly, and Will carefully leant down to press a kiss to Nico’s temple as they both swayed slightly in the hug.

“We’ll work out the next person Nico, it’s okay.”

Nico hummed again, clearly trying to think of a response before they were cut off as Austin burst through the door.

“Oh, sorry guys, just needed more bandages.”

Will smiled at his brother slightly as Nico pulled himself free of his boyfriend’s arms, bringing his own arms up to shield himself slightly, as if Austin might say something about what he walked in on. 

Austin didn’t.

“Right, I’ll get the bandages quickly, sorry to disturb.”

Austin shuffled quickly to grab the bandages before he made his way to the door again, before he turned back to the two other teens in the infirmary office.

“Hey Nico, I think Will looks like he’d appreciate a hug.” He said with a wicked grin, before shooting a reassuring look to Will.

“I guess… if he needs one.” Nico muttered as he moved closer to his boyfriend, allowing Will to wrap him in his arms again.

Will looked at his brother and mouthed thank you, making the boy wink with a cheeky grin before he slipped from the room, closing the door with a soft thud behind him.

Once it became obvious the two were alone, Nico pushed his face further into his boyfriend’s chest, revelling in the attention. Will sighed happily, shifting to rest his cheek on Nico’s head, closing his eyes, and enjoying himself.

PJOHOOTOA.

“Nico, I have an idea.”

Nico looked up from the bowl of cereal he’d been staring at to see his boyfriend staring at him as the two sat at the Apollo table. Kayla and Austin were currently in the infirmary cleaning up as they’d made a horrible mess the night before which Will had seen as he entered for his shift, and at seeing how put out their brother looked at what he’d have to clean, they’d offered to do it and insisted Will and Nico got breakfast while they did it.

“What is it?”

“Does it have to be like attention like hugs?” Will asked.

“No. What do you mean though?”

“Well, I know Piper is visiting camp in a couple of weeks, right.”

“Right?”

“Well, I was just thinking, you’ve said before, you never really had a friendship with the girl, right?”

“Right.”

“But she’s made attempts recently, like since the war ended?”

“Yeah. Sometimes she’d come and see me with Jason, and stuff like that.”

“Right, but would you be comfortable getting affection from her?”

Nico paused.

While he was touch starved, although he had improved drastically since Will had realised, the son of Hades was also uncomfortable with certain people touching him, which made sense to Will. He’d gone so long without any attention, and he was clearly relishing in what he was now receiving, but if the person had ever made him feel off in any way, he wouldn’t want their touch.

“I guess not. I mean I don’t think I know her well enough.”

Will nodded, encouraging him to continue.

“Maybe in a few months, when we get to know each other better, you know?”

“Yeah, it makes sense.”

“Does it?”

Nico met Will’s eyes, and the son of Apollo was quick to notice the confusion and slight hurt he saw in them.

He carefully took Nico’s hand in his own.

“Yes. Nico, just because you crave attention after all the crucial attention you missed, doesn’t mean there aren't people you wouldn’t want to give you attention. Piper and you haven’t been friends for very long, and it makes sense, you know? This touch starved healing is a process, it won’t be quick, but you’re doing so well, and the fact you can tell me when you’re uncomfortable, that you can initiate attention from me, and Annabeth when she’s around, without too much worry. That’s huge! Just because you want attention but not from certain people that have made you feel bad in the past is completely normal. I’m so glad you felt comfortable to tell me too. I’m so proud of how far you’ve come Neeks.”

A true, wide smile crossed Nico’s face for a moment and Will’s heart clenched with joy. Something he had said had made the usually gloomy son of Hades smile, a true smile that he’d rarely seen in the months they’d been friends and the weeks they’d been dating.

“No one’s told me they were proud of me before, at least not that I can remember.” He admitted softly.

Will leaned closer.

“Then that’s on them. I’m extremely proud of you sweetheart, and I’d tell you everyday if you wanted me to. Heck, I’d tell everyone.”

Nico flushed a violent shade of pink.

“Thanks Will, but you don’t have to.”

“When you’re comfortable with it, I might.” He said with a dreamy smile, and then a wink at his still pink boyfriend.

“Ah shove it.”

Will laughed.

“Anyway, what I was going to suggest, what if you had a haircut, or something like that.”

“How would that help?”

“You’ve been complaining that you wanted one for a while, even if it was just a trim. If you got your haircut you could get your hair washed. The guys in the Aphrodite cabin can be quite good at it, and I’ve heard Piper’s good at cutting hair. You could kill two birds with one stone as they say.”

Nico was silent as he thought about it.

“Sounds like it could work.”

“Good. I’m proud of you sweetheart.”

The blush that had slowly been fading from the younger boys cheeks returned in full force, and he looked down at his now soggy cereal again, before pushing it away quickly.

“For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you too.” Nico murmured.

Will quickly bent down and pressed a soft kiss to Nico’s cheek.

“Thanks Death Boy, want to head to the infirmary now? I imagine Kayla and Austin are probably close to being done.”

“Sure, but don’t call me Death Boy.”

Will didn’t say anything, just laughing as he entwined his hand with Nico’s and pulling him from the dining pavilion.

PJOHOOTOA.

It was two weeks after their talk on a rather cold, blustery November morning that Piper arrived. The camp’s border was doing a good job at keeping out most of the horrific weather, but still some harsh winds crept through.

A couple of days prior, Will had dragged his boyfriend into the city once he realised the boy had no winter clothing, instead only owning his coat and a handful of short sleeved t-shirts that would be pretty useless in the winter.

Will had managed to get a message to Piper before she arrived so she would be expecting to give Nico a haircut, although he hadn’t entirely mentioned the reason for it, though he wasn’t sure if she didn’t know or not. There was a chance Annabeth had mentioned it to the rest of the seven, but Will wasn’t entirely sure.

That morning, Will met Nico at his door as usual, and smiled as he saw the slightly grumpy look on his boyfriend’s face. He was wearing a black pom pom hat Will had chosen for him, as well as a jumper and a coat on top, along with his usual black jeans.

“Morning sweetheart, you look lovely.”

Nico glared down at the black cable knit jumper for a second, before he looked up again.

“I’m still not sure about the jumper.” He said hesitantly.

“It looks really good, I promise. If you’re not comfortable with it though you don’t have to wear it. It’s entirely up to you.”

Nico hesitated for a few seconds.

“Do you think it looks good?”

“I do.” Will responded sincerely.

Nico looked down again before nodding.

“Fine, I’ll wear it today and see. If anyone says anything though-”

“No one will, nothing negative at least. Now come on, let's get to breakfast, I’m freezing.”  
Nico carefully took Will’s hand in his own before leading the son of Apollo off to the dining area.

As they entered, they quickly grabbed some food and made their way to the Apollo table, and Nico was immediately immersed into a conversation with Kayla, leaving Will to have a conversation with Austin about some music the younger one was planning on learning on the saxophone.

“Oh heads up Nico, Piper’s coming over.” Austin said after about ten minutes of discussion.

Nico immediately looked up from his toast, and gave a small hesitant smile at the daughter of Aphrodite as she approached them.

“Hey Nico, love the sweater.”

Will grinned, shooting a celebratory look at his boyfriend.

“Fine, you win.” Nico grumped.

“Success!”

Piper rolled her eyes before turning her eyes back to the son of Hades.

“I was thinking I’d do your hair after breakfast, if that’s okay with you Nico?”

Nico looked over at Will.

“Go ahead, the infirmary isn’t busy at the moment, I’ll be fine for as long as you need.”

“Plus, you can always come and grab Austin or I if you need us.” Kayla said with a grin.

Will nodded.

“After breakfast works great, thanks Piper.” Nico murmured.

She smiled before wandering off, and Will looked carefully at his boyfriend. Nico definitely looked slightly paler than he had before he’d talked with Piper, but there was clear resolution in his eyes. 

“Hey Nico?” Kayla asked.

“Hmm?”

“For curiousitys sake, when was the last time you had a haircut?”

“Not since the forties.”

“Jesus Christ Nico!”

He shrugged, before turning his attention back to his toast.

PJOHOOTOA.

Will walked with him to the door of the Aphrodite cabin, before pressing a soft kiss to Nico’s lips and giving him a short hug before he darted off towards the infirmary.

Nico took a few moments, watching the retreating form of his boyfriend before he knocked on the door.

It immediately swung open, and Piper beamed down at him.

“Nico! Come in, it’s cold out!”

Nico did as he was told, and his eyes cast around the Aphrodite cabin, taking it all in. He wasn’t sure why he’d imagined it to be pink and superficial, but it was nothing of the sort. There were beds in a line, similar to the ones he’d seen in the Hephaestus cabin when he’d been dragged in there by Harley, although the bedding was much more decorative than the ones in Harley’s cabin had been.

“It’s nice.” He said, taking a second to look at Piper, for some reason feeling the need to reassure her.

“Yeah, it is. We also have our own rooms underneath the beds. Leo told me the Hephaestus cabin have similar ones.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s good, definitely helps as most of us do our make up and get dressed there in the mornings. I can’t imagine it otherwise. Mitchell is the worst in the mornings, he is obsessed with his eyeliner being right, he’s good at it, but very fussy when it comes to it.”

Nico nodded, trying to remember exactly which one Mitchell was.

“Come through to the bathroom, that’s where we’ll do it.”

Nico quickly did as he was told, following his friend into a large bathroom with a row of showers on one side, two doors along one wall and then along the other some chairs attached to sinks and rows of various products. He scanned his eyes along them, noticing some were hair dyes, some were shampoos, some were conditioners, and others were products he didn’t know the use for.

“Take a seat, and take your hat and coat off, I’ll grab a towel and a cape.”

“Er… thanks.”

“It’s no problem.”

He twitched anxiously in the seat as she left, wondering exactly how he should bring up what he wanted to talk about. It didn’t take too long for him to decide to just come straight out with it once she returned.

It took her a minute or two, but once she was back she smiled brightly at him.

“You okay Nico?”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry, I just wanted to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“If you want to change your mind about the haircut after, it’s fine. I won’t be offended, I-”

Piper lent down and cut him off.

“Nico? What is it?”

“Do you know what touch starvation is?”

“Yeah, Leo has it.”

Nico hadn’t known that.

“Oh.”

“Hmm yeah, sometimes on the Argo he’d want comfort, he’d come to me or to Jason.”

Nico nodded.

“Is this to do with that?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m guessing your touch starved?”

“According to Will, yeah.”

“It’s not surprising sweetheart. In some ways you and Leo had fairly similar years. You were both homeless for quite some time.”

Nico hadn’t known that either. He hadn’t really spent much time talking to the boy, especially as Leo had a habit of making jokes, sometimes at Nico’s expense, which had hurt, not that he’d let the older boy know that. He didn’t like revealing when something hurt him.

“Oh.” Nico finally said, once it became clear Piper expected some sort of answer.

“Is this haircut a way of getting touch then, making you more comfortable and familiar with it?” Piper enquired.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t mind, if that’s what you think. I’m glad you included me in this, no matter at what level it’s at. I’m glad you trusted me enough.”

Nico smiled.

“So you’ll still do the haircut?”

“Of course. Now, let’s put this cape and towel on you, and we’ll get started.”

Nico did as he was told, closing his eyes as Piper gently ran water through his hair. He was glad the temperature wasn’t too hot, especially as against his cold skin most things were warm, and he found things hotter than most comparatively. 

“I’m going to put some shampoo on in a second, okay sweetheart?”

“Yeah.”

“We have a variety of types that will work for your hair. Do you have a scent that you like? We’ll likely have it.”

Nico murmured his answer.

“Sorry, couldn’t hear you?”

“Watermelon. I like the smell.”

“Sure. We definitely have some of that.”

Piper quickly retrieved the bottle, and Nico closed his eyes again as she began massaging the shampoo into his scalp.

It felt nice. Piper’s hands were soft, and she didn’t scrub too hard as she worked, instead the movements almost felt like a caress against the top of his head. 

After a few minutes she stopped, carefully rinsing it out before starting again with the conditioner, which she allowed to sit longer in his hair than the shampoo had, meaning she massaged his head for a while, and he tried to stifle a yawn. He hadn’t expected to feel as relaxed as he did in her presence.

As she worked, the daughter of Aphrodite made small talk, mentioning how school was going for her, and how she missed being at camp full time like she had been for a few months earlier on in the year.

She ran another substance through his hair, one Nico wasn’t entirely sure what was, but he trusted her, and he was too invested in her story about something she’d seen when she visited Camp Jupiter, that he didn’t really care about her actions.

Finally, once she was done, she led him towards her bed, where she lifted a lever, letting it rise up so they could enter the room underneath.

“Can you leave the bed up when we’re in?”

“Of course.”

Nico breathed a slight sigh of relief. He hated being trapped in confined spaces. He didn’t even like locking his door at night, just in case, even though he knew Chiron had keys for all the doors to the cabins in case something did happen, and even though he knew he could shadow travel out if something went badly.

As Nico sat in the chair, twisting his hat in his hands slightly.

“So Nico, what do you want me to do?”

Nico looked briefly in the mirror before shrugging.

“Do you trust me?” Piper asked quietly.

“Yes.”

“I have an idea, I think it’ll look good. Will you let me do it?”

He took a moment to consider, before he nodded. 

“Yeah.”

“All right then.”

Surprisingly to Nico she started cutting his hair while wet, which he hadn’t expected, but he trusted she knew she was doing.

“So, how are things with you and Will?”

Nico immediately blushed, and he caught Piper’s reflection grinning at him in the mirror.

“Good.”

“Yeah? He’s treating you okay? No worries about it or anything?”

“No, no, it’s great.”

“Good, you know me, and the rest of the seven, and Reyna, and heck even Coach Hedge would fight him for you, if you needed us to.”

Nico blushed.

“No, everything’s great. Good, yeah. I sit with him at meals and stuff, and I really get on with his siblings, Austin and Kayla.”

“Good. Have you and Will been on any dates?”

“A few.”

“Hmm?”

“He took me to the cinema a couple of weeks back.”

“Yeah?”

“Hmm, we saw a movie about animated owls, I can’t remember what it was called. Will seemed to really like it though.”

“What about you?”

Nico blushed.

“Nico?” She prompted.

“I was watching Will for most of it.”

Piper removed the scissors from near his head for a second.

“Aww, that’s so cute.”

Nico scowled.

“Not cute.” He muttered, although he was trying to fight off a grin the entire time. Judging by Piper’s reflection in the mirror, he hadn’t been successful.

“Any other dates?”

“Outside of camp?”

“Sure, or in it.”

“We went to an Italian restaurant I chose, and went bowling at one point. He was ridiculously good at bowling.”

“Nice.”

“For our first date we had a picnic in the strawberry fields as it was still quite warm then. It’s not warm now, so we either watch films in the Hades cabin, or we watch films with his siblings, or with others at camp in someone elses.”

“Aww, that’s good. I imagine Austin is trying to make you catch up on music and films?”

“Yeah.”

“Any particular films you liked?”

“I quite like Tim Burton ones, although I found out some of the things he’s said, so I don’t like the man.”

“That’s very fair.”

“Same with Harry Potter. I like the films, but I don’t like J K Rowling, and I don’t like the offensive bits of the films either.”

“Yeah, I agree with you on that. The name Cho Chang… anti-semetic goblins, racist stereotypes, Gods, there’s so much in that universe that is bad.”

“Yeah. Plus people liking the death eaters! They’re the bad guys? They’re not redeemable!”

Piper grinned.

“I know right, what’s your opinion on Snape?”

“I hate him!”

“Same!”

“Just because he was attracted to Harry’s Mom doesn’t give him a free pass. He was a child abuser and a blood supremacist. If someone else had been the chosen one, or been Harry’s Mother, Snape would have stayed an extremely loyal death eater.”

“Exactly! I’m so glad you get it.”

The two continued talking for a while, and Piper recommended he watch Coraline as it was one of the Tim Burton movies he hadn’t seen yet, although she did recommend perhaps not watching it with a child of Athena, and she also recommended some pixar movies she thought he might like.

Nico had stopped noticing time had passed, but eventually she pulled out a hairdryer and finished off his hair.

As she revealed his hair, his mouth dropped open. It was still slightly on the longer side, but it looked cleaner and softer than it had in years. 

“It looks good.”

“Yeah, it really does Nico, just wait until Will sees it.”

Nico blushed.

“I’m going to go show him.”

“Do it. Hey, after lunch why don’t we watch a movie together, we could do Coraline? If Will’s free he can come along too.”

“Sure!”

Nico darted forward and gave the surprised Piper a quick hug before he darted out of the cabin.

He ran quickly towards the infirmary, and swung the door open quickly, making it bounce off the wall slightly, and he winced. 

“Just a minute!” Will’s voice called from just out of the room.

The infirmary was silent, no one was in it, and Nico knew that it was likely Will would be able to finish up, and they’d be free unless someone needed Will to fix something, but with how quiet the camp was, it seemed unlikely.

A minute later Will appeared in the room and his mouth dropped open.

“Do you like it?”

Will slowly shut his mouth and walked over to his boyfriend, a strange look in his eyes.

“Will?”

“You look so good.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Will breathed, moving closer.

His eyes flickered towards Nico’s, and then down to his boyfriend’s lips, and Nico gulped slightly.

“Can I kiss you?” Will breathed.

“Yeah.”

Will immediately closed the gap, the kiss starting gentle at first before getting more passionate. After a minute or two, although it could have been longer, Will pulled away, leaving a dazed Nico to stare at him.

“I’m guessing you like it.”

“Yeah, Gods you look amazing.”

Nico blushed.

**Author's Note:**

> Please review and leave kudos if you liked it.
> 
> Tumblr open for prompts. Frogsfordays.


End file.
